Sharks owner Hasso Plattner pays his team a visit: He expects a winner

SAN JOSE — Hasso Plattner entered the Sharks’ dressing room for a moment early Saturday afternoon and said in a loud, boisterous voice that he’d see everyone again the following day after they played the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“Hopefully after a win,” Plattner said.

Plattner, a member of the Sharks’ ownership group since 2002 and the franchise’s majority owner since 2010, came by Solar4America Ice on Saturday morning and was alongside general manager Doug Wilson to watch the Sharks go through the paces in a 45-minute practice.

“It’s exciting. We haven’t seen him in a while,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “It’s nice to have him come around.”

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Plattner does not make public appearances around the Sharks often and did not wish to speak with reporters Saturday. But despite his vast portfolio and his status as one of richest individuals on the planet, with he and his family’s estimated net worth at $12.7 billion, Sharks executives say he remains keenly in tune with hockey operations as well as the business side of the franchise.

“One, he’s got a big personality, so I think the guys enjoy seeing him. But two, we’re very fortunate,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ve got an owner who is all in. In all my dealings with him, all he wants to do is win.

“You’d think that’s common, but that’s not necessarily common around the league. Everybody here appreciates that.”

According to a 2017 report in Forbes Magazine, the Sharks are the 15th most valuable team in the NHL worth $490 million. Forbes reported the Sharks saw its operating income increase from $7.1 million in 2016 to $8.6 million the following year.

For comparison’s sake, the Sharks had an operating income loss of $8 million in 2011, according to the magazine.

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The Sharks’ average announced attendance was 17,508, or 99.7 percent of capacity, last season. Attendance has dipped slightly this season, as the Sharks have announced sellouts for just 14 of 31 home games through March 1 and have an average paid attendance of 17,347, or 98.8 percent of capacity.

In December, Plattner announced changes at the top of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, with Jonathan Becher and John Tortora being named co-presidents. SS&E oversees the NHL franchise, the AHL’s Barracuda and operates SAP Center and Solar4America Ice.

“I think what’s ideal is just saying you have (an owner) who wants to win,” Pavelski said. “Whether they’re around or not, their team is set in place and they have a structure in the office for what they believe will be successful.

“Everyone does it differently and we don’t even know how it all ticks. But we understand he wants to win, he expects a winner and that’s all you can ask for. He can do so much, and once this team gets put together, it’s on the players and the coaches.”

After consecutive wins, the Sharks are alone in second place in the Pacific Division with 79 points, and control their own destiny in terms of making the playoffs for a third straight year.

Still, not everything has been ideal from a hockey standpoint for Plattner, who saw his native Germany come up just short of winning a gold medal at the just-completed Pyeongchang Olympics. Germany had to settle for silver after it lost to the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the gold medal game.

“I asked him about the German loss in the Olympics, and he was pretty devastated,” DeBoer said with a laugh.